HRT = food lust?

[lilcuddlymouse]

As of Thursday I am on Spironolactone and Estriadol patches and while I knew there would be some adjustment I did not realize it would suck this much so soon. Basically from Thursday evening until this morning around 1AM I was nauseous and had to keep going out just to stay awake. Unfortunately that nausea seems to have been replaced by an unquenchable food lust and I'm trying to ignore it because I can only afford to gain another 8 pounds or be considered overweight in the military even as a male (At 5' 11" my max weight is 190 in the military). Is this hunger normal? Should I give up on the diet until I am more adjusted to the medication?

[Tammy Jade]

I don't know if it's common or not.. but I started on E just over a week ago as well and I haven't been able to stop eating either..

Really interested to see other responses.


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[MissKairi]

Week one I ate nothing. Euphoria and placebo.
Since then I can eat and eat and eat and still want to eat.

[RobynTx]

I haven't noticed any change in my appetite. Mainly drinking as much water as possible which can be fun in the Texas heat.

[Deborah]

My appetite didn't change.  But over time since I started HRT I've lost about 45 lbs through diet adjustments.

Spiro will dehydrate you.  Maybe drinking more water and adding some salt will reduce the hunger feelings.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

[lilcuddlymouse]

With lunch I ate two whole pickles, and I have got to say that's the best a pickle has ever tasted, so that's definitely a result of the water/salt loss, but I have been drinking almost constantly now that my nausea is gone and I can actually keep things in my stomach.

[Ryanne]

I have been on HRT for just over a week now and all I want to do is eat. Not that I have given in to it since my overall heath goal is to lose weight, not gain it but the hunger for everything bad for me has intensified since on HRT.

I have been drinking lots of water and snacking on healthier foods throughout the day and that seems to help. Being nauseous from the new medication doesn't help curb my appetite either. I am hoping week two goes better than week one but overall I feel better on HRT than I did without it.

Now if I can avoid all the fast-food commercials on TV I might just make it.     

[Devlyn]

HRT = Hunger, Ravenous Type. 

[Daniellekai]

Can't get enough dairy, other than that, salt and water.

[Wednesday]

Food lust? You just can't get an idea!

Happens to me too, I can eat a nutella full jar every 2 days

[Maddie86]

ugh, yes!! I started HRT 2 weeks ago and my appetite has been way up! I've been losing weight since February (I'm down 70lbs!) and last week was the first week that I actually gained weight. I used to cheat a lot on my diet as long as I worked out a lot, but now I can't cheat anymore, I have another 35lbs that I want GONE

[LizK]

I thought it was all Myth and then one night I had a piece of Cadburys milk chocolate and things have never really been the same since.

Chocolate never tasted like this before!!!

[Dan]

It's interesting this food lust. There are a number of transguys who are also complaining about food lust. But I've had no such lust at all.

Maybe we need a poll asking how many transmen and transwomen developed food lust in the first few weeks on their hormones. It is definitely not a medically recognised side effect of cross sex hormones, at least not yet.

[Wednesday]

To be honest, I just had a sweet tooth since always lol.

But it got somewhat worse after E

[laurenb]

If you're on Spiro, Garlic pickles are your friend. 10 calories, lots of sodium and filled with water. This time of year with copious cukes from the garden, I make my own. Easy peasy and they don't last long. Other than that, dark chocolate and cheese (did I mention cheese?). And anything else with Sriracha sauce on it. Seriously though, the Spiro does dehydrate the body sometimes tricking it into thinking it's hungry when a large glass of water will take the pangs away. Maybe we should have an HRT favorite recipe sticky somewhere here .... Yes, I am a serious foodie.

[JoanneB]

Just about all my support group members reported a love for all things pickled/salty after on spiro for a bit.

[Charlie Nicki]

I do feel like I'm kinda hungry all the time lol...I also get crazy cravings. But I thought it was all in my head and just happening because I was intentionally avoiding eating more than I should.

I really don't know but I can still control it.

[Devlyn]

Famous last words. 

[sarah1972]

Argh. Just opened the last pickle jar in the pantry after reading so much about pickles...

I pretty much lost all appetite for sweets and I used to eat Nutella by the spoon. Now I can't stand sweets...

I over-did the salt part and got water build ups in my feet. Managed to keep my weight stable for 6 month but now it is inching up (more like ouncing up). I really need to lose at least 10 lbs so I need to figure something out.

[Sarah_P]

2 weeks in, I am eating more, but I wasn't really eating much at all before. I do want to lose some more off my waist, so I'm doing exercises specific to that area (sit ups, mostly). I'm starting to have occasional salt cravings, though.